heaven & co

Okay, friends -- if you've been putting it off, I'm here to tell ya that it's never too late to get started on the spring cleaning ... so you should probably do it. Haha. In light of all the spring cleaning, I feel like doing a digital spring clean is much needed as well. I don't realize how clogged up my desktop gets when I'm always on the go, but it gets bad, y'all. It stresses me out when there are too many icons without any kind of order. With that said, I wanted to highlight a few things I do every time I'm in need of a digital clean (which let's be real, happens about 2x a year - whoops)

1. Go through every single file and delete things you don't need anymore. Literally. Think .... bad photos, old and unneeded documents, games, etc! Then from there, back up your docs into a hard drive. I have this crazy fear that one day my laptop will stop working and I'm not going to have anything saved. I try to back it up every month or so, but I often forget. As long as something is stored for those "what if" moments. It doesn't hurt to be safe!

2. Organize the little things into folders. It'll help you have a place to go to when you're looking for a particular photo or document and it won't get busy on your desktop. I don't like the blue colored folders that come with the Macs, so I change mine to a pink colored one and they make all the difference.

3. Get rid of anything taking storage. Uninstall old programs you're no longer using. Go through your messages and delete those (yes, they take up space!) and go through your inbox and declutter like crazy! I have a really bad habit of keeping old emails and never deleting them, but it's starting to clear my mind when I have a clean inbox. Haha!


You're gonna feel so much better! And as a reward, if you're into a new look, here are some fun new wallpapers for your digital spaces! Would love to see you use them and if you do, feel free to tag me @heyheavenn -- yay!

okay, friends ... no shame in an unorganized fridge. I do, however, want to make it a goal to organize this guy some time in the future. :) Maybe going to try to get some bins or labels so there's at least a place for everything.

photo via Akemy Mory

Making meals isn't easy for me unless it's planned beforehand ... or unless it's easy and I've done it multiple times! The kind of meals that are easy and unplanned are, for me, the ones that I will always go to when in doubt.

1. Boiled Veggies with Pork (zaub haus) 
Y'all, help me with that spelling ... lol. Could be right or totally wrong. Anywho, it's so easy to whip up with a simple boiling pot and a just a handful of ingredients. It goes a long way!

2. Easy Stir Fry
Because it is literally the easiest thing to fry up whatever you have in the fridge. It's convenient and quick.

3. Steak, Veggies and Potatoes
Again, another super simple dinner idea - and super filling, too. Literally season the meat and stick it on the grill or pan. Then the veggies and potatoes will go straight to the oven to get roasted and it's the best.

Clearly, I'm no cook, but I won't object to having any of the above at dinner time. ;)

Y'all know I love oils. Every month or so, I like to try a new one and look into the benefits of each oil. I'm finding that my favorite go-to oils are citrus ones for diffusing and then most other oils I will use topically for other reasons. Peppermint is still a fave always!


























Other things I enjoy collecting:

+ Cards to send to friends and families as well as cards received from friends and families. I will also collect all the letters I've received through mail as well.

+ Printed photos

+ Stickers

+ Books (that I'll eventually read)

There aren't a lot of things that I dislike .... and honestly, I hate to make a point of it, but since it's on the list of things to write about this week, here we are.

1. If we're watching a seriousish movie, I dislike it if there's constant screaming or making known thoughts and opinions on the current scene. Lol.

2. I dislike walking into stalls right after other people or when people go in right after me. Can't stand warm seats and leftover scents. Sorry, not sorry. However, on the flip side, I don't want anyone having to go in after me either. Ha!

3. And also ... when two songs play at once. I guess!

What are the things that grind your gears?!

Happy Sunday! I'm gonna be honest -- I literally just sat to read my bible for the first time in a while and came upon this piece that's quoted from J.I. Packer:

The Christian life is about knowing God; it's about moving forward toward viseo Dei - "when we will see Christ."

He goes on to say that those who love God have four characteristics: 1) great energy for God 2) great thoughts of God 3) great boldness for God and 4) great contentment in God. Just some things to personally pray on.

1. I've only ever been out of the country once (hello, Peru!)
2. One of my goals is to visit all fifty states + travel more.
3. When I was young, I wanted to be a worship leader and/or an actress. My sister took me out to an audition when I was younger and they wanted me to come back, but my parents said no. Lol.
4. The Harry Potter series finished airing by 2011 and I only started watching them in 2016ish. It may  or may not have taken me a year or so.
5. I didn't own a phone until I left for college.
6. I finally got my driver's license during the summer of my junior year .... in college. HA!
7. My first job was at an ice cream parlor. Loved most of the customers, disliked the work place.
8. In high school, I tried out for basketball and had the audacity to get upset when I didn't make it on the team. Like why?!
9. In my senior year of high school, I tried out for volleyball and made it onto the JV team -- then never showed up again. Oops!
10. I gave my life to Christ in 2009.
11. When I was young, my cousins told me I'd get married right out of college, but I didn't want them to be right so I was set on not doing that. They were right, though.
12. I use to be deathly afraid of dogs and so I disliked them as a child. Now, I have a dog and I love them so so much!
13. I started using essential oils in 2018 and have never looked back since! Peppermint is my all time fave.
14. I've always wanted a middle name 'cause my parents didn't give me one! Now, I don't really mind it anymore.
15. My favorite movie, for a while, was "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon.
16. Over the past 5 years, I've moved four times! That's more than I ever thought, tbh. I moved from college to back home, from home to my new home in Indy, then Indy to KS, and then KS back to Indy.
17. During my sophomore year of college, I seriously considered leaving college and going back home to save money.
18. Since my sister and I were the only girls, I remember wanting to be around her all the time and hanging out with her group of friends. She hated me for it. HAHA.
19. I started drinking coffee in college. I only drink coffee because I enjoy it, not so much for the caffeine.
20. My favorite song ever as a child was Nicole Nordeman's Holy. SO good.

Happy Friday, y'all --- did we think this day was ever going to come? As we head into the weekend, I wanted to share with you guys my health goals for the 97th time. ;) Thanks for bearing it even if it's the same every single time. For starters, my biggest struggle is staying true and consistent to one "program" and I think it's because I feel like I need change, but really I need that consistency. It's when I think that way that I find myself turning to try something new because I feel like my body needs it, but I've never stuck to something long enough to see much change. Then I grow discouraged and think that I can't do things, when I can, but I just am not sticking to it.



Anyway, it's a cycle.

But what I'm doing these days is simply trying to eat better and trying to work out daily even if it's for a little bit. Doing the little things well will have big impact in the days to come - I believe this applies to every part of my life. Part of being a good steward is learning how to do these little things well ... and this message is one I have to remind myself of every single time I get discouraged. With that said, here's what I've been kind of doing.

Foods: I'm learning that it's so important to keep things simple. Like so so simple. My body does not do well with carbs, so my carb intake is very little per day. Not only that, but I'm also not eating enough of foods either, so my body continues to hold on the whatever it does have. Goodness.

Drinks: I'm big into liquids and it gets really easy to drink up the calories, so I started drinking more sparkling water, Ningxia, water of course, and holding back a little more on the creamer in my coffee.

Sweets: I'm more aware of what's going into my mouth and realizing truly how much sugar I'm consuming on a daily basis. It's literally in everything! So again, limiting my creamer intake, thinking twice about dessert, and choosing to say no especially if there's no benefit to it at all.

Timing: I'm trying to have a little self-control and intermittent is helping a little. I started doing this with my sister a week ago. It's helpful, but at the same time, I have to make sure I'm also getting enough food during the times I can eat within the open window.

Workout: I'm following a super easy and simple workout plan from a fitness girl I found on Instagram. She posts the videos of the daily workout and I just do them. They're easy and straight to the point. She does a lot of compound movements which will work the overall body. :)


xoxo,
Heaven

Five years ago, I was just a 20-yr old sophomore in college. I have changed so much since then and praise the Lord for it. My college days were some of the best days of my life, though, and it truly played a huge role in me being who I am today. It forced me to grow up in ways I didn't know I needed so badly. I began to grow independent yet grew even closer to my family. I started developing friendships that were ones I treasured deeply. I thought I was so mature, but I was clearly not. There were many decisions I made that were because of my lack of maturity and even if I could go back and change it, I wouldn't. Jeff and I just started dating and things were getting a little more serious, but personally, I didn't really know how to date or act in a relationship. There were a lot of things I didn't know how to do, y'all! I look back now and can see that I was so insecure. Marriage was not in my mind at the time. I didn't have my future plans all together. At this point, I was so sure I was going to become a teacher. I loved blogging (thankfully, I still do) and journaling back then. During those college days, I enjoyed working out, playing volleyball, hanging out and laughing with friends --- basically doing anything to push off homework as long as I could.

Five years later, I'm 25 and married! I'm definitely not a teacher and instead, I work in insurance. I've hopped around for a little bit and newsflash -- I still don't know what I want to do (and that's truly been okay). Jeff and I have moved around and lived in multiple places within a short amount of years. Didn't think I'd move around as often, but I guess I just never realized the reality of ministry. I thought I knew what it meant to love people well back then, but the Lord really showed me what that looked like in these past years. It was both challenging and humbling. Jeff and I have grown immensely as a result of our marriage and it's been incredible to see how far we've come! I admit, I sucked during the dating years. I was a bad girlfriend! Haha. SO thankful that the Lord worked in our relationship. What else .... I still enjoy blogging and journaling, yes. I still am hopeful about working out daily and losing weight. Ha! I'm still into volleyball. I still wrestle with a lot of insecurities, but what's different is how I'm choosing to respond to my insecurities.

I feel like at this point in my life, I should feel more grown than I do, but the truth is I still have much to learn and much to glean from others who have gone before me. You'd think that at 25, I'd have accomplished something, but I don't feel like I have and that's a good thing. Five years has been quite the journey.


F A V O R I T E  M E M O R I E S :

Happy Wednesday! By the time we reach hump day, my eyes are all over the weekend. Thankful that this week is trucking along just fine. Since we don't have many plans these days, capturing a day in the life will actually be pretty accurate here. Keep in mind that my work hours look a little different as well.

7:30 - 8:15 The alarms go off and I need to at least get to the bathroom by 8:20. With a full house, it really is a science trying to get to the bathrooms. To my surprise, it hasn't been bad at all and it's worked out really well.

8:20 - 8:35 Getting ready. If I'm feeling it, I'll fill the diffuser with any nearby oils. Then I get started with makeup - just doing the bare minimum so I don't look like a zombie who just rolled out of bed. I get dressed and grab my go-to things: purse, water tumbler, phone, and keys! My morning routine can be found here.

8:40 - 8:50 Head downstairs to fill my water, grab a couple snacks, and catch a small breakfast if I can. Jeff will take Shepherd down as well for his breakfast.

8:50 - 9:00 In the car and headed to work. Thankful to work close to home so distance is not an issue for me. I arrive before 9am and settle in to my little space. Sign in and do all the work things.

3pm Headed home! I love coming home and getting to see Jeff and Shepherd. I take an hour to chill and unwind from the work day. At this particular time, if it's a nice day out, then the sun will be shining through the windows of our room and it's the warmest greeting.

4pm Time to start prepping for dinner. I never really have a plan but I'm slowly starting to implement a weekly menu (refer to this post) so that I'm not clueless everyday. Lol.

5pm We eat pretty close to 5 on the dot. Set the table, serve dinner, enjoy conversations and catch up. Then close to 6, we are doing all the chores, clearing the table, cleaning, taking out trash.

6:30pm On Wednesdays, we will come together to pray and have a little family update where we will literally update each other on what's happening in our lives.

8pm I'll usually start washing up and getting myself prepared for a new day. I just make sure I know what I'm wearing and set my alarms. Sometimes I'll watch Gilmore in bed until it's time to sleep or Jeff and I will watch a couple of youtube videos together. Stay tuned for a night routine soon!

... and then sleep, wake up and repeat!

Alright, friends - I'm gonna try to not get so repetitive around here. Getting the ball rolling here today with a round of different songs from my college days (a little twist for today's blog post). If you know me at all, you know that I'm so mellow and mellow music was my thang in college. I remember after a long day of classes, I would crawl back to my dorm, lay on my bed with my laptop in my lap and set the tone for the evening with all the mellow songs. I mean .... I literally had a playlist titled mellow times!

With that said, here's the list (with a few addition songs for a lil' bonus):

1. Dust to Dust - The Civil Wars
2. Gravity - Sara Bareilles
3. Meet Me by the Water - Rachel Yamagata
4. Light on My Shoulder - Susie Suh
5. Sunrise - Norah Jones
6. Low Rising - The Swell Season
7. Where I Stood - Missy Higgins
8. Not About Angels - Birdy
9. Echo - Jason Walker
10. Manhatten - Sara Bareilles

+ Necklace: I love a good ol' classic necklace; one that's reached for often or never taken off. This Kendra Scott one is so beautiful and I think it matches so well with any outfit.

+ Little Diffuser: I love the look of this diffuser. Not only will it pair nicely with any decor, but it'll make the room smell amazing.

+ Sandals: These are SO cute. They're made for comfort and everyone could use a more comfortable shoe these days.

+ Pullover Sweater: This sweater is super chic and so comfortable-looking. Great to throw on for running errands!

+ Skincare: You can never go wrong with any skincare. I would make sure to get skincare that's more universal especially since everyone's skin is so different. I also think this or this would make great gift ideas!

+ Cast Iron Pot: When it comes to the kitchen, I feel like a woman can never have too many kitchen items. A cast iron pot will surely become a staple as they only get better with age. Think about all the soups that would be made in that pot. Another option here ... I just love the pink!

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, the only-begotten, born of the Father before all ages. - Nicene Creed

In ten years ...

I'll be thirty-five. Jeff will be thirty-six. Probably living far from family now, but we'll have a little family of our own. Maybe 3 to 4 kids running around in our little home - in the backyard. I'll be a stay at home mama, working on my own little shop while serving alongside of Jeff. We'll continue to serve in the church; running with our people for the Kingdom.

We are traveling more often and maybe we'll plan a trip to Disney. Or maybe it's a trip to see our friends and families in a different state. We'll definitely have sweet little family reunions and many, many meetings with both sides of our families.

In ten years, I hope that we have grown much in the Lord, that our marriage has continued to flourish, that we are able to do more of what we enjoy, that we will get to travel and continue to be in the presence of our loved ones. Additionally, I hope that we will have paid off our debt and gone through some weight loss changes. ;)

Come June, Jeff and I will be celebrating three sweet years of marriage. I've heard many times people say that marriage is hard, but one thing that Jeff has always reminded me of is that it's just a matter of how hard we want to hold on to our differences. I was doing some reflecting the other day on our little story and I'm still blown away that the Lord would see this life for the both of us.

Even today, we often find ourselves in awe that we're married! I tell everyone that I still feel like a kid most days. Needless to say, these past three years have held a ton of precious memories for us, but they didn't come without hard and trying times. I hate to say that we've come out of the other side of the tunnel "stronger" because of it, but let me just say that I believe that our marriage has flourished as a result of those things amid drawing near to the Lord.





D I D  Y O U  K N O W ?

+ Jeff and I started dating in the month of October and he asked me to date him through a card.
+ In July, he proposed on the empty pages of a scrapbook that I initially created for him.
+ During our wedding, when I was trying to muster up any word that would come out during my vows, he quietly whispered, "hey, it's just you and me..." --- can't imagine how gross I sounded, but he made it comfortable.


xoxo,
Heaven

In the words of Sheryl Crow, we're gonna soak up the sun and tell everyone to lighten up ... that's if we can ever leave our house again. As a self-proclaimed "true homebody" --- I'm honestly getting tired of all this lounging and if I'm tired, then I bet the rest of the world may be as well. My coworkers and I joke around about how all this doing nothingness has made us all so achey. In light of better things ahead, wanted to share with you all a little spring bucket list aka all the things I'm doing the minute we get the okay to leave the house and still be fine.

graphic via here

Have you ever had a day that's just "such a Monday?" Oh gosh, I pray not and if so, then hopefully not too many. I used to always view Mondays horribly until I had a shift in perspective. Now I see it as an opportunity to start new and fresh. Sharing with you guys a few songs that I've been enjoying and is on repeat always. Now I'm no musician or artist in any way, but a girl can appreciate some good music any time.